Court of Arbitration for Sports has rejected Russian sportsmen’s appeals on absence of invitations for the Olympics in South Korea, RIA Novosti informs. According to Secretary General of CAS Matthew Rib, the absence of invotations for the Russians is not a sanction. In his words, it is rather a question of compliance with the accepted requirements.
Secretary General of CAS has mentioned that despite Russia was banned from the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee met needs of the sportsmen not involved in the doping scandal.
Russia is sure that the court’s verdict is politically biased. The Bobsleigh Federation Chairman Sergei Parkhomenko has noted that the sportsmen hoped for the better and are very disappointed, of course. He has also mentioned that the struggle will continue by different means. Russian athletes are going to make appeals to other courts and demand compensation for moral and financial damages.
The head coach of the national team of Russia on sled sport Albert Demchenko is also going to consult the lawyers. He has reminded that the International Olympic Committee’s President Thomas Bach has pressured CAS before the final decision was made. The head of the international structure has threatened to dismiss the court in case of “the wrong decision”. This statement made the court’s support of the Russians practically impossible.
Note that appeals by Russian sportsmen with regard to the decision of the International Olympic Committee about lifetime bans from the Olympic Games have been satisfied. 28 people were justified in total. The athletes were accused of anti-doping rules’ infringements at Winter Olympics in Sochi held in 2014. 11 people more were justified only partially. The lifetime ban for them was substituted by miss of the Olympics in South Korea.
Russkiy Mir
